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Ryan Zimmer shares his GH5 XLR grip idea…

Not a rumor but a quick mock-up I did of a different idea for a way to provide professional XLR audio connections to the new Panasonic GH5! The drawbacks with the DMW-XLR1 is that 1) Connecting via hot shoe is not a truly durable and reliable place to mount an accessory like this where one accidental tug on the XLR cord may end up snapping the unit off and breaking and 2) the placement may get in the way of many rigging solutions people use on these types of small cameras. I’ve proposed a design that is roughly the same size as the battery grip they plan to release and provides manual audio controls/meters on the back as well as 1-2 XLR inputs on the side of the unit. If only 1 XLR input can fit in the space it would still be highly useful and a more rugged connection as it would screw into the bottom of the camera, being almost an extension of the body. They could still sell the DMW-XLR1 that attaches above camera as that may work better for some. But from my experience filmmaking and rigging the GH2,3,4 for production use, I would find this idea to be a far more durable and functional solution for the GH5. With this accessory attached, it would only make the GH5 an even closer competitor to other professional bodies such as the FS5/7, with the only major body feature lacking a built-in ND. Who knows, with the base that you reach with 43rumors maybe Panasonic will see this post and consider being the first in the industry to offer a solution like this for hybrid cameras!